Graham Roberts

For the English actor, see Graham Roberts (actor).

Graham Roberts

Personal information
Full name	Graham Paul Roberts
Date of birth	(1959-07-03) 3 July 1959
Place of birth	Southampton, England
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1973–1977	Southampton
1977–1978	Portsmouth
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1979	Dorchester Town	0	(0)
1979–1980	Weymouth	29	(6)
1980–1986	Tottenham Hotspur	209	(23)
1986–1988	Rangers	55	(3)
1988–1990	Chelsea	70	(18)
1990–1992	West Brom	39	(6)
1994–1995	Stevenage Borough	11	(1)
1995–1998	Yeovil Town	6	(1)
1998–1999	Slough Town	10	(0)
Total		429	(58)
International career
1984	England B	1	(0)
1983–1984	England	6	(0)
Managerial career
1992–1994	Enfield
1995–1998	Yeovil Town
2005–2006	Clyde
2010–2011	Pakistan
2011–2012	Nepal
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Graham Paul Roberts (born 3 July 1959) is a retired English footballer and manager who played as a defender for numerous clubs including Tottenham Hotspur (where he won the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup), Rangers (where he won the Scottish League and Scottish League Cup), Chelsea (where he won the Second Division) and West Bromwich Albion. He was also capped six times by England. He subsequently served as the head coach of the Pakistan national team and Nepal national team.

Playing career

English FA cup final, 1981. Here is Tottenham's Graham Roberts who lost three teeth, but who nonetheless refused to leave the field.

Roberts was born in Southampton, and joined his local club, Southampton F.C, as an associate schoolboy in October 1973, but failed to make the grade and was released, joining Portsmouth in March 1977. He was sold to Dorchester Town where he impressed before joining local rivals Weymouth. From there he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur in May 1980 for £35,000.

Roberts was a member of the successful Tottenham Hotspur side of the early 1980s, winning two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup in 1984, scoring in the second leg of the final against Anderlecht, and then scoring his penalty as Spurs won the final on a shootout. He moved to Rangers in 1986 for £450,000 and won the Scottish Premier Division in his first full season and the Scottish League Cup a year later. Whilst at Rangers he was involved in a controversial Old Firm derby at Ibrox Park on 17 October 1987. During a very bad-tempered match three players were sent off and in the aftermath Roberts, his team-mates Terry Butcher and Chris Woods and Celtic F.C. player Frank McAvennie were all charged with conduct likely to provoke a breach of the peace. Both Roberts and McAvennie had their cases adjudged not proven, although Butcher and Woods were both convicted and fined. During the course of the match Roberts, who had replaced Woods as goalkeeper after Woods was sent off, was involved in a second controversy when he "conducted" Rangers supporters in a rendition of "The Sash", although Roberts would subsequently claim that he did not realise they were singing that song, a traditional Ulster loyalist anthem, when he made the gesture.

He joined Chelsea in August 1988 for £475,000 and helped the side emphatically win the Second Division championship in 1988–89. He later moved to West Bromwich Albion, where he played out the remainder of his professional career.

Roberts won six caps for England.

Coaching career

In June 2005, Roberts was appointed manager of Clyde. He only had three players under contract, and held open trials in an attempt to get new players. Roberts gave the supporters their greatest day in years, when his Clyde side defeated Celtic in the Scottish Cup in January 2006. Earlier in the season, Clyde took Rangers to extra time at Ibrox Stadium in the Scottish League Cup. Roberts was sacked by Clyde in August 2006 after allegations he made racist remarks. An employment tribunal found that the allegations were "either highly exaggerated or possibly not true" and awarded Roberts £32,000 compensation for unfair dismissal.

In September 2010, he was hired as consultant to the Pakistan national football team to assist the coaching staff. Roberts was appointed as head coach in the following month.

He then joined the Nepal national football team in January 2011. In March 2012 he stepped down as coach after a 3-0 defeat to Turkmenistan in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup.

Honours

As a player

Tottenham Hotspur

• FA Cup 1981, 1982
• UEFA Cup 1984

Rangers

• Scottish Championship 1986–87
• Scottish League Cup: 1987

Chelsea

• Second Division 1988–89